The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In general, search engines are applications designed to facilitate information retrieval. Automated search engines that rely on keyword matching typically return some useful information and many low-quality (or “junk”) results. Over time, many search engines assemble an index of documents (sometimes called “assets”) or a database of query-to-asset mappings. Not all mapped assets are relevant to a particular query. As query indexes and/or query databases increase in size, the precision with which queries are mapped to particular assets becomes critical. Otherwise, junk results can begin to overwhelm any results in which the user is interested.
Generally, search authoring tools are software applications adapted to allow a user to develop search logic and to inspect and adjust mappings created by the search application. Such search applications typically utilize search logic to map queries to assets. These mappings can then be stored in the index or database and surfaced to a user as found objects corresponding to a search query.
Many search engines generate new mappings, both automatically and in response to queries, as new material becomes available to the search engine, such as, for example, over a network such as the Internet. With the continuous addition of new mappings and new material, some existing mappings become irrelevant, new mappings may be irrelevant to a particular query, and the overall search engine performance can degrade as a result of the excess information and incorrect mappings of queries to assets. The searches overall become less relevant. As search results become less relevant to users, users will seek out different search engines for finding the information they need.
Conventionally, there is no easy way for a search author to determine the efficiency and efficacy of new mappings or of the mappings created using search authoring tools.